Data and instruction-entry keyboards of various kinds are known in the art. Keyboards are typically comprised of a plurality of keycaps (such as depressible buttons, touch-sensitive surfaces, and so forth) that permit a user to selectively enter any of a variety of alphanumeric characters and/or to input corresponding instructions or selections. Two common examples in these regards are the so-called QWERTY keyboard and the so-called telephone keypad.
Small portable communication devices (such as so-called smartphones) often include a keyboard. To minimize the device's footprint those keyboards are sometimes disposed on a lower plane than the device's display. In these cases the display and the keyboard sometimes slide parallel to one another to bring the keyboard into a deployed position. In some other cases the keyboard comprises two or more multi-row segments that pivot in a planar fashion with respect to one another to permit the keyboard segments to be stored, again parallel to the device's display, as a stack of planar members within the device.
Though useful in many instances, such approaches do not meet all requirements for all application settings.